the most money I ever made in 100 days
 

I rented 5 acres a few years ago and planted it in sweet corn now that might not seem like much but figure it up around 30,000 plants to yhe acre at 3 to 5 dollars a dozen. I spent 1/2 a day tilling the soil and bought a old JD 4 row planter at a sale for $35 dollars I planted 8 rows accross the field every 3 days and bought a old AC 1 row corn picker and took the huskers off of it and it picked it and loaded it in a pickup bed trailer went to the farmers market on Saturday and sold at a road side stand on the weekdays until I got tired of it then I made a deal with a couple of older gentalmen for them to sell it for half I grew pumkins and cucumbers and squash also but the corn made more money than I could of made in a entry level job in a whole year.Just a idea 5 acres can sometimes be rented cheap as its to small for a conventional farmer to farm

Wow!!!!!!

I love your post.

I've spent quite a bit of time thinking about this very idea, and seriously contemplated doing it for this year.

I've been told that a person can make pretty decent money at this, especially if you have the markets to sell it in.

start small
 

i would try a smaller amount the first time. And to be practical you need a small tractor or a bunch of kids lol and dont plant it all at once or it will go bad before you can sell it plant a few rows every 3 or 4 days so you have it spread out over a few weeks you could pick it by hand but those old one row pickers can be bought for scrap price and are handy dandy if you take the huskers off and there easy to work on I used 3 different varities but all had the same maturity days that way if one didnt do so well I had others but the same maturity spreads out the harvest more equal as far as a market if its legal you can sell in your driveway check the zoning but farmers markets grocery stores veggie stands I have sold alot to others with stands selling tomatoes and other veggies

Can I have permission to add this to my e-book - How To Earn Extra Money In The Country?

Most livestock would love the still green stalks.

You had a good year and you make it sound so easy. Throw the seed in the soil, harvest it, sell it, and drag your money bags to the bank.

In reality - while you could plant it and watch it grow from there - depending on the fertility of the field is going to affect your yield. And fertilizer isn't cheap. Skip fertilizing, and you can forget a crop in the second year.

What about weeds? Most farmers around here either spray a weed killer to keep the weeds down, or till between the rows until the corn has gotten big enough. There again - weed killer isn't cheap and you'll need a license to apply it as well as another piece of equipment.

The corn picker is a great idea. Anyone around here, I've heard they all pick it by hand.

You've left out the risk of a drought (like this year in many areas of the country). No rain = no corn.

You have to have a market for the corn. You can pick a pickup load of corn all you want, but if you don't have a good market for it, it's not going to do you much good. And there is still the time you take to sell it.

You'll be up early in the morning picking the corn, then driving to your set up spot, and then sitting there all day waiting on the customers to stop.

I'm just saying - it isn't as easy or will work out everytime as you say.

Lol
 

I used a 4 row cultivator and cultivated it 2 or 3 times and did hoe a small portion one year I dont like chemical weed killers there dangerious and even with roundup ready seed it stunts the growth I spread the manure from my chicken and hog pens on the soil in the fall and a couple years used starter fertilizer when I was a little late getting it planted. I didnt plant 5 acres each year and no it was work but short of marrying a rich widow I dont know of any way to get money for free I have never drew $1 of state or fed aide. Lack of rain is always a risk with country life and raising food but even in this dry year I still made money just not great amounts. I am sure this is not for everyone but for someone who wants to be there own boss and has the equipment and time it has worked out for me' As far as adding to your list feel free. yes the cultivator cost me $50 at a auction

We've got some friends that do something similar, but he has 4 boys and they hand pick the corn. Friends can come and get whatever they want for their own use, the rest the boys load up in the truck and sit out by the highway and catch all the tourists going back and forth from the cities to their vacation spots. He lets the boys keep all the money for their spending and college funds. Pretty sweet deal for the boys, and they do well every year, at least for the past 8 or so years since they've lived there.

Once again, MPlatt, I think you have an outstanding idea.

Your idea of renting small patches, the ones that big farmers have totally given up due to their size, is simply stellar.

I read about what another start up farmer was doing...I think he is in IL. Since he had no real start up money, he rented those small tracts in his area, all of them averaging 5-10 acres. Much of it was hilly too. He bought old equipment, and maintained it meticulously.

It was pretty amazing to think that he was super excited that he was going to add a single 20 acre field this year to his row crop venture.

I like out-of-the-box thinkers, and your small plot sweet corn venture is a great idea.

thanks
 

I wasnt trying to seem like I was better farmer than others or a better thinker I was just sharing something that has worked for me several times and yet to lose money but I did have to put in some effort on the other hand I did lose on water melons and canalope everytime i tried to raise them I never tried in a big way but for some reason I cant grow them the canalope either dont make or the size of softballs and the water melons the size of soccerballs I am open to hearing how others get them to grow

There's a guy in north central Idaho Near Lewiston, the banan belt of Idaho) who does this. I think he has maybe 2-3 acres (just guessing). Based on his signs, he seels out every year. Not sure what he is making, but sweet corn is 38 cents an ear at the nearby Walmart. The lowest I have seen it there thi year was 25 cents an ear.

I used to work with a woman whose husband farmed, and they planted a section of their farm in sweet corn. They would do it kind of like this, in sections: 63 day corn on the first day, 67 days on the second day, 70 days on the third day, etc. and when harvest time rolled around, they would recruit their kids' friends with pizza and whatever the current minimum wage was in cash, and sell it out the back of a truck with the parking lot owner's permission. It was a cash income that on a good year was about half of her annual salary, in just a few weeks.

Some people here sell corn like that.Sometimes they sell 3 truckloads a day. ETA..they must have more than 5 acres,they sell corn for weeks at a time.

This is a great idea, mplatt. As someone mentioned you are thinking "outside of the box" and it's working for you!

This is so great to read. The kids learn how to actually work in the real world, and they get to earn some money. Plus they already know they are saving for college. Some years they may have disappointing returns, but hey, that too is life, right?

Kudos to those parents, Kevin, good for them. Wanting to raise responsible children, love to read that.

Excellent post! :goodjob:

I had my extension agent come out and go over my property. We talked about corn (the guy just below me grows it annually). He said that my ground would not grow corn like the ground below without a lot of heavy inputs because of the shallow soil. I've tried corn here and it is stunted. Does anyone have any tricks for getting good corn out of low quality land?

Maybe try building your soil by planting legumes and adding organic matter.

yeah this can work well for corn, Ive also known people who have done it with small plots. Seems to me it is because its one of the crops it is still easy for the farmer to get most of the final sale price from. People will stop their car just for the sweet corn.

Tomatoes have also worked well for some I have known on small plots. Your going to want something tasty you know does well in the area. beans will also probably work pretty good for most, if your good at picking them, but probably wont get many to pull over. Sweetcorn is the best, but a mix might draw more people, and in my experience those three seem to do pretty well about anywhere. Pumpkins for holloween seems to be a good one as well, IF your not trying to compete with some larger local pumpkin farm, and you have a nice jackolantern style pumpkin reliable in your area. I was thinking snow peas might be something good to sell along with fall pumpkins...

Edited to add: I was also talking to some folks who added garlic to their line up recently, and Im told for the amount of work involved, it pays pretty well. Of course I doubt anyone will stop just to buy garlic, but if your selling something else already, Im told it can have pretty good margins and sells reliably.

yes i have tried rotating crops
 

rotating does help legumes put nitrogen back in the soil but you can only benefit with then for so long if you keep planting them also in the same place they will not keep putting as much in the soil. also you need to watch planting crops after other crops that have similar pest like cut worms and root worms
to boost the soil you can use old hay or straw and manure but you must plow manure in as soon as possible or you dont get much help because rain will leach the nutrients out of it fast. also beware that it takes nitrogen out og your soil to break down and compost green matter so try to let it compost some before applying it

Small watermelons should still sell. Lots of people don't want to buy a 20 pound melon. In fact, you might try some of the melons bred to produce small, prolific, fruit. Bet they'd do just fine as far as selling goes.

You have enough manure from hogs and chickens to cover 5 acres? I assume you have a manure spreader, bucket loader, etc?

I'm just asking to make sure others know that fertility doesn't magically get from barn to field without some serious labor.

What varieties did you plant so that you didn't have 100,000 ears of corn all ready at the same time (corn has a short shelf life imo)... did you keep it cool after harvest... we all know corn should be stored cool and sold on ice...

5 acres, 100,000 ears at $3/dz = 25,000. Not a bad income, I'm doing something similar next year but only an acre.. I have a 2 row corn planter.. trying to find a manure spreader as I have lots of composted horse manure to move.